Fresh from launching their Max subscription and being linked to an Apple acquisition, Perplexity have launched their new AI-native browser “Comet” to premium subscribers and testers. Meanwhile rumours abound that OpenAI’s browser, codenamed Aura, could launch within weeks, looking to build on their previous browser automations in the form of the Operator agent. A new variant of the browser wars could be developing, although this time it won’t be about rendering speed or JavaScript support, but about controlling the gateway to an agentic web.
Comet closely integrates conversational AI directly with browsing. A sidebar assistant reads pages, answers questions, and follows as you navigate. Where things get interesting is when this assistant takes over the tab, a glowing frame appears, and it controls the browser for you. During ExoBrain’s testing, it helped research this very article while the main ideas took shape in a document tab, Comet was able to instantly read the content and run quick parallel searches for information. The browser control isn’t yet entirely reliable, but people have found value in automating simple tasks like email management, social media posting, or LinkedIn research. The interactions sometimes fail, revealing the fragility of manipulating websites designed for humans, not AI. But the fact that the AI can seamlessly step in and use existing logins means it’s quick to find the tasks that are most suited to the agent’s capabilities.
The last browser war saw Google Chrome defeat Internet Explorer through superior speed and simplicity. Chrome now commands the majority market share, serving as the data pipeline for Google’s multi-billion-dollar advertising business. Microsoft resorted to using the Chrome engine and wrapping with tools that suit its ecosystem, but the fundamentals of browsing the web have remained unchanged for a decade or more. OpenAI has quietly assembled a team of Chrome veterans to build its browser, including at least two Google vice presidents from Chrome’s original development team. Darin Fisher, who contributed to both Chrome and Firefox, brings crucial expertise in minimalist architecture and multi-process security.
Today’s new AI-first contenders include Perplexity, OpenAI and The Browser Company (who are developing Dia currently available in beta on Mac). The incumbents are admittedly alive to the challenge: Microsoft is pushing Copilot in Edge, and Opera and Brave have been highly AI-centric in their niche areas, but bolt-on AI may not suffice against purpose-built agent browsers. Google is working on its own next generation solution in Project Mariner which will bring genuine agentic capabilities directly into Chrome. The system observes browser content, interprets user goals, and autonomously interacts with websites, from clicking buttons to filling forms. Rather than building a new browser, Google is retrofitting Chrome with these capabilities. Crucially, they’re pairing this with Gemma 3n, their new multimodal AI model optimised for edge devices. Gemma 3n runs on devices with just 2GB of RAM, enabling real-time AI experiences directly within Chrome on phones and laptops. Users can already try Chrome’s integrated AI interaction and search in Chrome Canary. This overall three-pronged approach allows Google to match the automation promises of Comet and Dia whilst leveraging Chrome’s massive installed base.
Users changing browsers is typically a slow process, it took many years for older products such as Internet Explorer to die out. But as websites evolve from pages to agent interfaces, browsers will need to transform from page renderers to task orchestrators which may accelerate the process this time around. Microsoft’s NLWeb project hints at this future: websites exposing conversational AI layers that browsers can query directly, and MCP offers a means by which these agentic websites can offer up the services they contain.
Imagine booking flights, researching investments, and drafting emails through natural conversation while your browser coordinates with specialised agents. Publishers could monetise content and services through these structured agentic interfaces and begin to welcome this AI-powered traffic. The AI browsers could control how billions interact with AI services. Current screen-scraping approaches will give way to structured agent protocols. Browsers will become the AI OS and default negotiation layer, managing identity, permissions, and context across thousands of AI services.
Takeaways: The new browser wars signal a platform shift from the page-based to the agentic web. These early AI browsers still struggle with automation, but emerging standards like MCP will enable reliable browser-to-agent communication. While browser switching remains glacial, big tech firms have no choice but to fight for the AI interaction layer. Control over how users access AI services could become an existential battle.